G20 police may have used undercover men to incite crowds.

Started by Cerr, May 10, 2009, 08:24:58 AM

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Cerr

May 10, 2009, 08:24:58 AM Last Edit: May 10, 2009, 09:34:36 AM by Cerr
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/10/g20-policing-agent-provacateurs
QuoteAn MP who was involved in last month's G20 protests in London is to call for an investigation into whether the police used agents provocateurs to incite the crowds.

Liberal Democrat Tom Brake says he saw what he believed to be two plain-clothes police officers go through a police cordon after presenting their ID cards.

Brake, who along with hundreds of others was corralled behind police lines near Bank tube station in the City of London on the day of the protests, says he was informed by people in the crowd that the men had been seen to throw bottles at the police and had encouraged others to do the same shortly before they passed through the cordon.

Brake, a member of the influential home affairs select committee, will raise the allegations when he gives evidence before parliament's joint committee on human rights on Tuesday.

"When I was in the middle of the crowd, two people came over to me and said, 'There are people over there who we believe are policemen and who have been encouraging the crowd to throw things at the police,'" Brake said. But when the crowd became suspicious of the men and accused them of being police officers, the pair approached the police line and passed through after showing some form of identification.

Brake has produced a draft report of his experiences for the human rights committee, having received written statements from people in the crowd. These include Tony Amos, a photographer who was standing with protesters in the Royal Exchange between 5pm and 6pm. "He [one of the alleged officers] was egging protesters on. It was very noticeable," Amos said. "Then suddenly a protester seemed to identify him as a policeman and turned on him. He legged it towards the police line, flashed some ID and they just let him through, no questions asked."

Amos added: "He was pretty much inciting the crowd. He could not be called an observer. I don't believe in conspiracy theories but this really struck me. Hopefully, a review of video evidence will clear this up."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has received 256 complaints relating to the G20 protests. Of these, 121 have been made about the use of force by police officers, while 75 relate to police tactics. The IPCC said it had no record of complaints involving the use of police agents provocateurs. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We would never deploy officers in this way or condone such behaviour."

The use of plain-clothes officers in crowd situations is considered a vital tactic for gathering evidence. It has been used effectively to combat football hooliganism in the UK and was employed during the May Day protests in 2001.

Brake said he intends to raise the allegations with the Met's commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, when he next appears before the home affairs select committee. "There is a logic having plain-clothes officers in the crowd, but no logic if the officers are actively encouraging violence, which would be a source of great concern," Brake said.

The MP said that given only a few people were allowed out of the corralled crowd for the five hours he was held inside it, there should be no problem in investigating the allegation by examining video footage.

Pretty terrible if this is true.
Looks like something similar happened before at a protest in Canada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&feature=related

CountDeMoney

#1
May 10, 2009, 08:35:12 AM
Not true, so don't worry about it.

Neil

#2
May 10, 2009, 09:19:42 AM
Even if it is true, what's wrong with it?
I do not hate you, nor do I love you, but you are made out of atoms which I can use for something else.

The Brain

#3
May 10, 2009, 09:33:24 AM
:zzz
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

syk

#4
May 10, 2009, 09:44:47 AM
Shock and horror, my faith in the forces of good will never be the same.

jimmy olsen

#5
May 10, 2009, 10:01:55 AM
Quote from: Neil on May 10, 2009, 09:19:42 AM
Even if it is true, what's wrong with it?
Their job is to prevent riots, not incite them. Completely ignoring the moral implications, they're simply not doing their job.
It is far better for the truth to tear my flesh to pieces, then for my soul to wander through darkness in eternal damnation.

Jet: So what kind of woman is she? What's Julia like?
Faye: Ordinary. The kind of beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you just can't leave alone.
Jet: I see.
Faye: Like an angel from the underworld. Or a devil from Paradise.
--------------------------------------------
1 Karma Chameleon point

Neil

#6
May 10, 2009, 10:08:17 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on May 10, 2009, 10:01:55 AM
Quote from: Neil on May 10, 2009, 09:19:42 AM
Even if it is true, what's wrong with it?
Their job is to prevent riots, not incite them. Completely ignoring the moral implications, they're simply not doing their job.
Their job is to preserve order.  What's the best way to preserve order?  To eliminate the anarchist element.  If they get them riled up, they can arrest them.  Eventually, they'll be able to execute them on the spot, but for now, I'll take what I can get.
I do not hate you, nor do I love you, but you are made out of atoms which I can use for something else.

Sophie Scholl

#8
May 10, 2009, 02:23:58 PM
Quote from: syk on May 10, 2009, 09:44:47 AM
Shock and horror, my faith in the forces of good will never be the same.
Forget to change who you were logged in as?

On topic, sounds rather like crap to me at this point.
"Everything that brought you here -- all the things that made you a prisoner of past sins -- they are gone. Forever and for good. So let the past go... and live."

"Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did."

syk

#9
May 10, 2009, 04:32:40 PM
Quote from: Judas Iscariot on May 10, 2009, 02:23:58 PM
Quote from: syk on May 10, 2009, 09:44:47 AM
Shock and horror, my faith in the forces of good will never be the same.
Forget to change who you were logged in as?

On topic, sounds rather like crap to me at this point.
Sorry, I only have this one account here.

garbon

#10
May 10, 2009, 04:36:24 PM
What does one mean in german?
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

syk

#11
May 10, 2009, 04:41:07 PM
Quote from: garbon on May 10, 2009, 04:36:24 PM
What does one mean in german?
What one would think.

Razgovory

#12
May 10, 2009, 04:45:39 PM
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

jimmy olsen

#13
May 10, 2009, 04:47:46 PM
It is far better for the truth to tear my flesh to pieces, then for my soul to wander through darkness in eternal damnation.

Jet: So what kind of woman is she? What's Julia like?
Faye: Ordinary. The kind of beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you just can't leave alone.
Jet: I see.
Faye: Like an angel from the underworld. Or a devil from Paradise.
--------------------------------------------
1 Karma Chameleon point

Admiral Yi

#14
May 10, 2009, 05:38:18 PM
Are the Lib Dems the kooky party now or is this dude an outlier?
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